Aids orphans need love and care,says singer
To mark World Aids Day, which falls on December 1, four HIV-infected children from China and Thailand were invited by the Hong Kong Committee for Unicef (United Nations Children's Fund) last week to share their experiences about the deadly disease.
All the children, aged 12 to 15, had lost one of their parents to Aids.
Kob (not his real name), 12, lives with his mother and younger brother in northeast Thailand.
Kob's father passed away when he was only eight years old.
Soon afterwards, his mother came down with pneumonia and tuberculosis (TB). Kob is also suffering from TB.
'One of the things I always say to sick people is 'You must take your medicine, you will die if you refuse',' said Kob.
'At first, I refused to tell anyone about my disease because I feared my friends would tease or leave me. I really hope that others would understand the fact that I am the same as them. The only difference is I have a tiny virus inside my body.
'We hope that one day, everyone would get to know more about this disease and start treating us as normal people.'
Dr Robert Fung, chairman of the Hong Kong Committee for Unicef, said Aids is a problem confronting the whole world, not only Africa.
'Children whose parents died of HIV are so helpless and vulnerable,' said Dr Fung. 'They face discrimination, and in addition, they worry about their future.'
Singer-actor Louis Koo Tin-lok said he was touched after meeting HIV-infected children for the first time.
'I found that HIV-infected children are no different from other youngsters. They still have to go to school, meet friends and need love and care,' Koo said.
'The children are always discriminated [against] and teased by others. Yet, they are totally innocent. They have been orphaned because of the disease. Please show them more love and care.'
